Tuesday, June 2, 2015

SDF at 25: Here are the 10 Personalities the SDF Can Count On

Cameroon’s political landscape shook to its roots on May 26, 1990, when the most unexpected happened. The earth-shaking occurrence was the official launching of the Social Democratic Front-SDF in Bamenda by Ni John Fru Ndi (and in Yaounde by students of the then Yaounde University). The most priced and valued possession of it all was that six innocent young citizens were killed in Bamenda. Over 2000 armed soldiers stormed the city of Bamenda in an attempt to disrupt the historic event but Ni John Fru Ndi took the most enduring epithet and courage to launch the political party against all the odds. As SDF clocks 25, here below are the 10 Personalities the SDF can Count on.

Ni John Fru Ndi: The Man of May 26.

Indeed, May 26, 1990 remains a memorable day and date in the psyche of many Cameroonians as the day that a new page in the history of Cameroon saw the light of day. It was historic given that hopes and fears intermingled nationwide. Expectations were fever pitched as Ni John Fru Ndi (Pa Ebibi) took courage to official launch the SDF. His comportment, humility, thoughts and vision of democratic nation gave all and sundry the reason to sing Alleluia. Ni John Fru Ndi took the bull by the horns to display some signs; no one ever took note of. Take off was not smooth given the military presence in the city of Bamenda but he took the ride on the bumpy road to launch the struggle for democracy and good governance. 25 years down the lane, Fru Ndi remains the most courageous politician Cameroon has ever produced in recent times. One amazing thing happened on that day as that majority of Cameroonians joined the SDF to start asking for their rights. When the founding fathers conceived of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) as a party with an exclusive agenda, Ni John Fru Ndi whom many described as the “common book seller” was courageous enough to launch the SDF amidst military presence. Ni John Fru suddenly became the symbol of “Change”, “Democracy, Civil Liberty and Freedom of Speech. Papa Power as they would henceforth call him was symbiotic of the political struggle in Cameroon. As the SDF celebrates 25 years of struggle, Ni John Fru remains the indomitable and a man on whom Cameroonians can rely on.

Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam

He is Vice President at the National Assembly and he is on his fourth mandate as MP on SDF ticket. Hon. Mbah Ndam was assigned the laudable task to reconcile all disgruntled SDF militants during this Silver Jubilee. Talking to journalists a week ago in Bamenda, Joseph Mbah Ndam said the assignment landed on him by NEC is on a good footing but added that the process could be extended after May 26, 2015.
Hon. Mbah Ndam started his rise to fame in the SDF as legal adviser. He plays a very primordial role. More so, it was Mbah Ndam and Hon. Yoyo who drafted a new constitution for the SDF for the party to meet present day challenges. What is however more fascinating about his loyalty to the SDF hierarchy is that Honorable Joseph Mbah Ndam is one of the closest and most trustworthy aids to John Fru Ndi. And this has to be pointed out clearly. Even though it has been discovered that, there is no loyalty amongst politicians within and without the same party, Hon. Mbah Ndam has been different. From Parliamentary Group leader, Hon. Mbah Ndam rose to the position of Vice Speaker at the National Assembly.
Even though he wields and enjoys a lot of power, he had never been drunk with power given that Joseph Mbah Ndam has been faithful to John Fru Ndi in a manner that is both beyond belief and praiseworthy. This quality marks out Joseph Mbah Ndam. He has been a member of National Executive Council (NEC) of his party since 1991. Hon. Mbah Ndam has contributed enormously to the growth of the SDF for the past 25 years. He is a shoulder Fru Ndi and the SDF should continue to lean on.

Hon. Awudu Mbaya

Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian, is MP for Donga Mantung Centre constituency who doubles as Questor at the National Assembly, and is also General Coordinator of the Silver Jubilee of the SDF. He is on his fourth mandate at the National Assembly. Besides that Hon. Awudu is also the Executive Coordinator of the Pan African Parliamentarians on Climate Change. He was elected into the National Assembly in 1997. He served asbureau Secretary before being elected as Questor N0 2. Hon Awudu Mbaya is buoyant politician who started his rise for fame in politics in Douala. Being a successful businessman, and CEO of CAMITEX, Hon. Awudu Mbaya is the most practical politician the Wimbum people have produced in the last decades. He has served the SDF in various capacities, Shadow Cabinet Minister of Mines, Water and Energy and was recently appointed Shadow Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs. The fact that NEC trusted him to the point that he was catapulted to the General Coordinator of the 2015 Silver Jubilee is indicative of his trappings. The massive mobilization in Yaounde during May 20 march-pass was indicative of the fact that Hon Awudu is not a man to pigeon-hole with. One good thing about Hon. Awudu is that he is a good public speaker, lobbyist and has the political thoroughness that is very rare in many politicians. He has been consistent in party politics since insertion. He remains a reliable shoulder on whom the SDF and SDF Chieftain should lean on.

Hon. Joshua Osih Nambangi

He is Member of Parliament and Vice National Chairman of the SDF. Osih is young, energetic and very intelligent. From the above analysis he is a force to reckon with when it comes to striking a consensus in favour of the SDF. This very courageous NEC member is on his first mandate at the National Assembly, where is holds the position of Vice Group President. An aeronautic expert by profession, Osih is one of those who would pitch camp with the SDF at a very young age. Since then, he has never had a second thought on his political choice. Thanks to his humility and courage, hard work and determination he emerged victorious at the last Legislative elections. He is a source of inspiration to many youths. Those who underestimated him given his age have always held their mouths in wonders whenever they have the opportunity to listen to him. He has a good mastery of issues. Talent as they say must never be buried. God has condemned this in very strong terms in the parable of the talents. If Osih remained in the world of aeronautics like most of his contemporaries, the world including the SDF would have missed his exceptional talent. The fact that the SDF decided to vote him Vice National Chairman bears testimony to his ingenuity. He is a pillar on whom Ni John Fru Ndi could lean comfortably

Njong Fonyuy Donatus

Njong Fonyuy Donatus is the mayor of Kumbo Council. He became mayor in 1996 and was appointed and reappointed by President Biya as one of the board members of FECOM (council bank) though an opposition mayor. Njong is on his fourth mandate as mayor of Kumbo and his remained committed to SDF ideologies. He is a practical socialist in his entire political sphere. He is one of those who successfully planted the SDF in Bui Division. Talk about mayors whose trappings have won national and international reputations, one is one of them. He is also a member of NEC and had contributed enormously to the growth of the party. Njong joined the SDF when he was young and is one of the few politicians who still believe that the SDF has brought change to the political landscape and still has a lot to offer. In Bui Division, he is popularly known and a heavy weight too.
Born on March 4, 1958 was exiled from Kumbo during the political upheavals in the early 1990s to Mua (GHS Mua). While in Mua, the political forces did not want him and was moved to Nkambe.
In 1996, he was elected Councillor of Kumbo Urban Council and the councillors elected him Mayor. Njong has an attachment for democracy and freedom reasons why he had remained a true militant of the Social Democratic Front. He is a shoulder on which SDF can lean on.

Hon. Jean Michel Nitcheu

He is a Member of Parliament in Littoral and a vibrant militant of the Social Democratic Front. Some years ago, Hon. Jean Michel Nitcheu took the courage to declare his assets in accordance to the famous Article 66 on the declaration of assets by public and elected officials. What many do not know about this political kingpin is that he fused his political party into SDF which had since been acknowledged with him been elected and reelected SDF regional chair of the SDF. Nitcheu is indomitable in Douala. This is a fact. He served as SDF assistant Parliamentary group leader. Not only is he rich but above all, allegedly he is one of those provided the SDF a printing press which now operates in Bamenda. He is extremely powerful yet respects party hierarchy. He is a member of NEC. He understands more than most politicians that the SDF is a populist movement and has a lot to offer. From the above analysis, Hon. Nintcheu is a man on whose shoulder the SDF and Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi lean on

Hon. Joseph Lukong Bandzem
Hon. Joseph Banadzem is a gentleman and an unassuming politician who is down to earth. Hon. Banadzem is soft-spoken and is always ready to learn in conformity with the philosophy of Socrates which states that “the only thing that I know is that I know nothing”. Of course, Hon. Banadzem knows many things given that he was University lecturer before being a career politician.
He is SDF Parliamentary Group leader and member of NEC. In his capacity as SDF Parliamentary Group leader, Hon Banadzem has been up to the task in coordinating and ensuring party discipline among his peers. He is one of the finest political strategists that the SDF can price itself of after 25 years in the struggle to instill democracy and freedom of speech in Cameroon. His militancy for the SDF has remained constantly stable as he does not look elsewhere. Get him out of bed anything and be sure to get the first thing out of his mouth about the struggle the SDF has engaged in for the past years and what they have achieved. At this solemn occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the SDF party, Hon. Banadzem is a shoulder on which the SDF and its National Chairman can rely on.

Joseph Atekwana
Pa Atekwana is dieheart SDFand a man who waxes in his own self confidence and political matured in his thoughts. Joseph Atekwana is the man who planted the Social Democratic Front in the Centre and South Regions during the 90s. During that period, Atekwana was a whole agenda at security meetings in Yaounde. Tortured, molested and arrested arbitrary, he did not chicken out but stayed to the ideals of the party. During the 1992 Convention of the SDF at the Mankon Catholic Hall, he was elected into NEC. Since then, his loyalty to the ideals of the party has remained unshakable.
Being a devoted militant, he has served the SDF for the past 25 years in various capacities. He is currently the treasurer of the party and one of the kingpins. SDF finances have been a big area under discussion. Yet Atekwana has been up to the task. He is just what supporters’ say is creating self-control within the party. The finance law even provides subsidy to cover operating costs of legally recognized political parties, especially to those of them that control councils and parliamentary seats. But during the last NEC, Pa Atekwana disclosed to journalists that the SDF only receives a meager 220 million FCFA each year as subvention. He said at times, the funds come very late.
What is however so interesting about Pa Atekwana is that he is soft spoken, tolerable and is a convinced social democrat

Hon. Esther Ngala
She is a female political dynamo, queen mother of SDF politics and a woman emancipator. She is MP for Donga Mantung Centre (Ndu) and is on her second mandate in Parliament. Hon. Esther Ngala Ntala entered into record books when in 2007 she became the first female MP to win Parliamentary elections on SDF ticket and the first from the North West Region. She is a member of the regional bureau of the SDF and has held the position of treasurer for several years. At the National Assembly, she is also a head of a Parliamentary Commission. She is a formidable rallying force given that she had proven her worth was President of the Wimbum women in Bamenda with a membership of more than 7000. She has the changed the face of politics in her role as woman emancipator. She is a soothing woman that can cough all the shocks of good governance as she has never kept her ever prying eye off the ideologies of the SDF. She is bedrock and an uncontested SDF iron lady par excellence. The exceptional trappings of Hon. Esther Ngala have already been known from the above account. As SDF clocks 25, She is a reliable pillar Ni John Fru and the SDF can lean on

Hon. Njong Evaristus
Njong hails from Boyo in the North West Region and he is on his second mandate at the National Assembly. He is the North West Regional chairman of the SDF and also Secretary of the SDF Parliamentary Group. Hon. Njong Evaristus is a refined public speaker and unlike most of his peers, he understands the role of the Press in a democratic process. This is another positive aspect of Hon. Njong reasons why he is a source of inspiration to many young Cameroonians who want to take up a political career. As SDF commemorates 25 years of continued existence and the solemn ceremony is billed for Bamenda, one of the key speakers would surely be Hon. Njong Evaristus given his position as regional chair. He is therefore a political baobab and a shoulder for the SDF to lean on.